Posts tagged ‘NO KINGS Day’
We the People Are Rising Up…and Our Friends Are With Us
At the NO KINGS rally in Paris last Saturday, with my son and his fiancée.
I haven’t been posting on this blog very often lately–most of my current writing is over on Substack now–but I’m grateful for those who are following my posts here as well.
The writing I’ve been doing on Substack is leading me ever so slowly into the writing of my next memoir. The two topics I’m focusing on there are Searching for Home; and A Cheap Loft in the West Village, which features some preliminary sketches I’ve written, looking back at the twenty-one years I lived in New York City.
But today I want to write about something that doesn’t fit into either of those categories, and so here I am again.
I want to highlight the very exciting day a few days ago when millions of Americans–both at home and abroad–gathered together to raise their voices in protest against what is currently going on politically in the United States–and in solidarity with those who are resisting authoritarianism both at home and in countries around the world.
The numbers are not yet conclusive but what is clear beyond any doubt is that this was a massive outpouring of people around the world. It is also clear that we have friends around the world who are with us.
I have always told my students through the years that France is one of our country’s oldest and best friends–after all, their help was crucially important in helping us to achieve our independence from Great Britain way back in 1783.
And it’s good to remember that the Statue of Liberty, which has become one of our country’s most beloved symbols of both freedom and welcome–was a gift from the French people back in 1886, as we celebrated the first hundred years of our democracy.
Our French friends were with us side by side again on Saturday, at Place de la Bastille in Paris, joining hands and voices with us in calling out support for our democracy, as well as in other cities across France–Marseilles, Toulouse, Lyon, Nice, Aix-en-Provence, Bordeaux, Rennes, and Strasbourg all held rallies.
(It should perhaps be noted here that eleven European countries do still have monarchies–but they are constitutional monarchies that function as democratic republics. Having a monarch is not always a problem; having a would-be monarch in the United States, where our constitution allows for no such thing –and where the current occupant of the White House has no respect for our constitution–is a problem. A big problem.)
I was in Paris on Saturday, where a French organization, La Digue, along with Indivisible Paris, had organized a well-attended, bilingual, bicultural manifestation at la Bastille. There were speeches in French and English–and there was live music from some very energetic and talented performers.
Most of all there was an abundance of positive energy, and determination to keep this international movement growing and moving forward–and to not back down.
If you were at one of the more than 3,000 such events and are wondering how to help keep that momentum going, you can get guidance from either nokings.org or Indivisible.org. (Indivisible is hosting a mass organizing call tonight–Tuesday, March 31–at 8 pm Eastern time, 5 pm Pacific. If you want to join in, here’s the link: https://indivisible.org/)
It is hard sometimes to believe that systemic change is possible–the powers that be seem so entrenched, and the efforts of individuals so dwarfed by the power of the state. But things can change when enough people decide they must. “We live in capitalism, and its power seems inescapable,” Ursula Leguin said. “But then, so did the divine right of kings. Any human power can be resisted and changed by human beings.”
There is power in collective action–so let’s all join hands and work together for positive change!
Janet Hulstrand is an American writer/editor who lives in France. She is the author of Demystifying the French: How to Love Them, and Make Them Love You, and A Long Way from Iowa: From the Heartland to the Heart of France. You can also find her writing on Substack.
Writing from the Heart, Reading for the Road 